Present athletic shoes have the problem that the sole or cleats become embedded or locked on or in the playing surface, such as turf, grass, clay, or wood and prevent the athlete from freely turning or moving his leg or foot against the high torque created and applied to the hip, leg, knee, ankle, or foot of the athlete. As a result, many athletes suffer injuries to the hip, leg, knee, ankle, or foot.
There are many types of athletic footwear having cleats that have been designed to minimize injuries to the athlete wearing a particular type of footwear, including footwear for football, soccer, field hockey, baseball, rugby, lacrosse, etc., or cleatless athletic shoes for basketball, tennis, volleyball, racquetball, etc. The above sports need an athletic shoe that responds to the needs of the athlete but also takes into account the distinctive characteristics of that athletic endeavor.
The desired athletic footwear should be able to adjust to many factors, including the weight and size of the athlete, the degree of athleticism of that individual, the types of maneuvers that are expected in the playing of that sport, the type of surface played on, and weather conditions that are prevalent at the time of play for the type of surface being played on. Thus, the athletic shoe should have different release settings for predetermined torques.
For example, in pro-football, the quarterback, running back, end, defensive back, etc., need to be extremely mobile, executing sharp cuts, turns, running backwards and forward at full speed, and withstand being tackled when the athlete has his foot firmly planted in the ground. The athletic footwear worn by that athlete should take into account his weight and size, since a heavier and larger athlete may need a higher torque/force setting than a smaller and lighter athlete. The quarterback may need a lower torque setting because of his constant sharp turns, whereas the offensive and defensive lineman may need a higher torque setting because their movement is limited. The athleticism of the individual is also a factor because that athlete may be able to take a higher torque setting due to his ability to take a higher amount of physical punishment to his lower extremities for a longer period of time. The peculiarities of the sport are important, whereas the lineman may need fewer and longer cleats versus the quarterback needing more and shorter cleats, etc., for the type of action involved in that sport.
The type of field played on controls the type of cleats that are used, depending on whether the athlete is on artificial (Astro) turf versus a natural grass turf. The quarterback may need a shorter cleat in the Astro turf because the Astro turf is not as resilient versus using a longer cleat because the natural grass field is more resilient where the longer cleat may not get stuck in the dirt. Finally, weather conditions will affect the type of cleat being used on the playing field, where for, example, on a frozen grass field, the cleat could be shorter because it reacts more like an Astro turf playing field. On a muddy field, the cleat could be longer because the field may be very forgiving, and the quarterback may need that extra traction for maneuvering around.
At present, most athletic footwear does not adjust for many of these factors previously mentioned, whereby the safety of that athlete may be in constant jeopardy and subject to some type of hip, leg, knee, ankle, or foot injury in the course of playing their sport. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a new and improved athletic shoe which takes all of these factors into account and substantially reduces the likelihood of injury.